Modern societies give rise to a wide variety of organizations. These include workplace organizations (e.g., companies, partnerships, buying groups among organizations, trade unions and industry associations, supplier groups, etc.) as well as non-business organizations (e.g., sports teams, clubs and special interest groups, volunteer agencies and associations, religious groups, charities, etc.). Political organizations including legislative, executive and judicial branches of government, as well as their agencies, departments, and other institutions may also be considered as organizations. All of these types of organizations are dynamic, with constantly changing constellations of individual participants, particularly in the case of private enterprises, as a result of ongoing business acquisitions, combinations or failures, all of which result in changes in organizational structures and relationships. Typically, an organizational chart in either paper or electronic form has been used to present an overview of an organization's structure.
Most individuals define themselves, at least in part, by reference to the organizations they participate in. Historically, organizations and relationships among individuals within and between them were limited, local and physical. In modern times, with the advent of globalization, with the reduction in communications costs, with the emergence of pervasive interconnectedness through the means of the Internet, and with the resulting shift in emphasis from solely physical to virtual relationships, the range, breadth and diversity of organizations and the relationships they create, are now significantly enlarged. As an example, the social networking site Facebook™ itself is an organization having at least 500 million members worldwide and with some degree of interconnectedness between and among its members. As a related example, many businesses can now be incorporated electronically, can be staffed remotely by “virtual” employees, and can be operated entirely by using “cloud-based” business applications to connect with employees, customers and suppliers.
This organizational diversity results in significant complexity. This complexity is heightened when one considers that many individuals are participants interacting with multiple workplace organizations, and are also active in many non-business organizations. These trends affect all individuals. They also present challenges with respect to organization, communication and interaction that grow as organizations expand to transnational scope.
One drawback with current organizational charts, tools and methods for helping individuals better understand the structure of and manage their interactions with specific organizations while coping with changes in these organizations is that they offer limited and often primitive functionality. They have not kept pace with technological change and innovation. In particular, paper based organizational charts of the type typically found in many companies and posted on office walls are may be difficult to maintain and keep up-to-date. In addition, tools and methods to enable individuals to efficiently manage their simultaneous participation across multiple organizations are not available.
Recent developments in the areas of so-called cloud-computing, social networks and the mobile Internet have created opportunities to address all of these gaps with improved tools and methods for the benefit of both organizations and the individuals who serve in or interact with them. Internet based computing has evolved in recent years to permit the delivery of a multitude of services to organizations and individuals using cloud-based or software-as-a-service hosting and delivery models. These systems enable, among other things, end user access via a web browser to services where the underlying data and applications are supported in and delivered from remote environments. These applications are designed and deployed to support multiple types of users and levels of access to functionality and features. By implementing these systems using “multi-tenant” architectures, solution providers enable the cost effective delivery of these services with low data storage costs and high levels of availability and scalability. These developments have been enhanced through the enablement of online communities, or “social networks”, permitting users of these services to create online connections whether resulting from shared interests, or mutual need for cooperation or collaboration. Social communities, cooperative business relationships, and professional associations are all examples of social networks. Social networking systems create connected networks of individuals that can be used to share knowledge, as well as to create and strengthen the communities themselves. For example, a person may receive an invitation from a friend or colleague to join a social network or decide to join independently where they find a social network relevant to their interests and needs, whether professional or personal. Typically, a user will create an account, provide whatever information about themselves that they wish to share, and collaborate (through the medium of the application or service) with others within the community. Social networks have been shown to be a significant contributor in assisting in organizing online communities. With the proliferation of smart phones and other mobile computing devices, as well as the emergence of low cost broadband access across a diverse array of wireless networks, there is increased opportunity and ability for users to establish and maintain their “connectedness” to organizations and each other not simply through the use of traditional desktop tools to access the Internet but also through a growing range of wireless appliances enabling such access.
However, current tools and methods for generating organizational charts have not taken effective advantage of these technological improvements.
A need therefore exists for an improved method and system for generating and modifying electronic organizational charts. Accordingly, a solution that addresses, at least in part, the above and other shortcomings is desired.